Coldridge Parish Council Clerk to the Council: K Richardson, Church Cottage, Coldridge. 01363 83251

You are invited to attend the next meeting of Coldridge Parish Council to be held at 7.30pm on Thursday 18th March which will be held remotely using Zoom.

Meeting ID: 847 870 1469 Password: 454699

Agenda 1. Recording of meetings 2. Apologies: To receive apologies and to approve reasons for absence. 3. Declarations of Interest a. Register of Interests: Councillors are reminded of the need to update their register of interests. b. To declare any personal interests in items on the agenda and their nature. c. To declare any prejudicial interests in items on the agenda and their nature (Councillors with prejudicial interests must leave the room for the relevant items) 4. Minutes: To approve the minutes of the last meeting of the Council January 21st 2021 5. Co-option of Councillor (see note 1 below) 6. Clerk’s report and update. Potholes repaired 7. Highways: Road Warden Scheme (see note 2) (drains in Church Lane/ hedge cutting) 8. Planning: consultation on trees 3 Sunnyside Coldridge , MDDC call for sites 9. Finance – to agree payments to

a. clerk’s wages £219.77 b. clerk’s expenses £6.08 c. Communities Together (sum to be agreed at the meeting)

10. Rubbish bin request – (see note 3 below) 11. Councillors concerns and reports 12. Changes to the planned meetings (See note 4 below) 13. Date of next meetings: these will all be in person, not Zoom. To confirm the dates of the next meetings as AGM May 20th, July 15th, September 16th and November 18th.

Signed

Keyth Richardson Clerk to Coldridge Parish Council March 11th 2021

Notes to agenda

1. Co-option of a Councillor

Proposed action and dates

The June edition of the Coldridge Calendar includes the following, which will also be posted on noticeboards and the Parish Council website.

Coldridge Parish Council wishes to co-opt a councillor to serve the remainder of the late John Daw’s term. It invites all interested people to apply to the clerk, Keyth Richardson by email [email protected].

Please explain why you wish to be a councillor, what skills and abilities you will bring to the council any other relevant previous experiences. The Clerk is responsible for legal and financial aspects of the Council’s work, so you do not need to be an expert in these areas, but the Council is looking for someone who can contribute to the life of Coldridge. The Parish Council is the first level of local democracy and is not party political. It is not relevant if you either are, or are not, a member of a political party.

The legal requirements to be councillor are that you must be over 18, and meet at least one of the following.

1. be on the electoral roll for Coldridge 2. lived within the parish for at least 12 months 3. lived within 3 miles of the parish for at least 12 months 4. had your only or principal place of work within the parish for the last 12 months.

Please contact the Clerk if you want to discuss this informally, 01363 83251 or talk to any of the current councillors.

The deadline for applications is June 21st and interviews will take place in early July, subject to any remaining Covid restrictions.

This can be discussed at the March Parish Council meeting and agreed then, or be reviewed and agreed at the May AGM

2. Road Warden scheme https://www.devon.gov.uk/communities/opportunities/road-warden-scheme

What is the Road Warden Scheme?

It is a formal agreement, between and a town or parish council, which enables them to deliver minor works in or around the public highway.

The Road Warden Scheme allows communities to:

• organise minor works either on or off the live carriageway (see types of work below) • carry out minor works either on the live carriageway or away from the live carriageway.

What are the benefits of the Road Warden Scheme?

• Communities are able to carry out minor works which DCC are no longer able to resource and do not have a legal responsibility to carry out. • DCC provide third party insurance for the works. • Free training on DCC arranged courses (see training below). • Priority status for Highway Maintenance Community Enhancement Fund (HMCE) Fund applications. • Access to a store of tools which are held at various locations around the county. What type of work can be done by Road Warden volunteers?

• Pothole repairs (when they do not meet our intervention criteria). • Clearing weeds. • Cleaning signs. • Cleaning drainage (gully grating). • Cutting grass. • Repairing finger posts. • Cutting hedges. • Set up a road closure for special events. • Managing verges for wildlife

All works must be discussed, in the first instance, with the local highway neighbourhood officer. This list is not exhaustive. Work must be undertaken in line with guidance (method statements) provided by Devon County Council. Please see the ‘Details’ tab for guidance documents.

Road Wardens would not be responsible for carrying out safety repairs as this remains the responsibility of the council.

A Road Warden should:

• be nominated as suitable by the town or parish council • be the communication link between DCC and the parish council • agree to work within the arrangements set forward by the Road Warden agreement • co-ordinate any minor works which are undertaken within the parish or town • ensure that risk assessments are undertaken and are easily accessible upon DCC request.

A Road Warden volunteer should:

• be nominated as suitable by the town or parish council or similar body • have received suitable training to carry out minor works • agree to work within the arrangements set forward by the Road Warden.

What insurance cover does Devon County Council provide?

In the unlikely event of a claim, DCC will cover the public liability aspect of insurance for voluntary work on the public highway or footway, providing it is undertaken in a safe manner according to DCC advice. This, for example, would cover any claims by third party as a result of works, which the county council would defend if works were done in accordance with DCC advice.

DCC will not provide any other form of insurance cover for this activity which must be undertaken at the volunteers own risk. So, for example, any damage to one’s own person, property or vehicle would not be covered. If vehicles are to be used (for example farmers) then they must ensure that the vehicle is suitably insured for any activity undertaken – if in doubt, owners should check with the vehicle’s insurer.

If a local council decide to employ a contractor to undertake any works for them then the County Council’s public liability insurance will not apply – it only applies to volunteers under this scheme.

We advise any parish and town council, who are interested in undertaking any self help work, to discuss their insurance requirements with their current insurance provider.

How to get involved Town and parish councils: If you’re interested in joining the scheme and working with Devon County Council to more effectively manage your local area call 0345 155 1004 or email [email protected]

Individual volunteers and community groups: The Road Warden Scheme is organised via the parish or town council. Each parish or town council can have a nominated Road Warden and can be supported by local volunteers. Contact your parish or town council to see if there are any projects arranged and offer your assistance. To get the right contact details for your area please use the postcode checker below. If the parish or town council don’t have anything planned, contact Devon County Council on 0345 155 1004 or email [email protected] and we may have something planned which you can get involved in.

3. Request for a litter bin at the end of the driveway to Donkey Cottage and Mount Evelyn

A resident has asked about having a bin installed to cope with the increase in dog waste and litter in this area.

MDDC policy and procedures

1. The District Council Dog & Litter Bin Policy states that it operates an ‘any bin will do’ scheme whereby residents may deposit litter and dog waste in either type of bin therefore any new bins sited will be litter bins. 2. The Parish Council is asked to submit a ‘Request Form’ with the details of the location and the situation that has prompted the request along with the location of the proposed site. 3. Once the form has been received a trial period (3 months) will begin. During this time MDDC District Officers will visit the site to determine if there is sufficient litter and dog waste strewn in the area to warrant an additional bin to be sited and emptied at MDDC expense. If the results of the survey show this is not the case, then the siting and emptying of the new bin will be at the expense of the Parish.

I contacted MDDC for a breakdown of costs if MDDC decide there is not a need for the bin

These costs are approximate at this stage.

Installation of the bin £266.83

Emptying costs 52 empties per year £291.20 26 empties per year £161.20 12 empties per year £74.00 It is likely that a monthly collection will be sufficient as if MDDC deem it unnecessary then usage will be quite low.

It is up to the Parish Council to decide on whether to go ahead with the bin, simply by asking for a bin does not mean a commitment to go ahead with it at Parish Council expense.

4. Changes to planned meetings

Approval of Accounts DALC have sent out the following notice

Since councils may struggle to hold a face-to-face meeting once remote meeting legislation expires, we would suggest that councils try to approve their end of year accounts before the 7 May where possible. This will allow you to meet safely and meet the audit deadline.

We recognise this isn't going to be possible for every council, and some councils may need longer to prepare. Any meetings called after the 7 May will be required to meet face-to-face and must be held in a COVID secure environment. This will not be a problem for Coldridge Parish Council as long as it is quorate in May at a meeting in the Village Hall.

Annual Parish Meeting (APM) 2021

This must, by law, be held between March 1st and June 30th. In 2020 the requirement to hold the meeting was removed by the government due to Covid-19. It is expected that this year the requirement will be re-instated, so the Parish Council needs to plan how it will run this.

The normal structure of the meeting is for the Parish Council Chairman to give a report reviewing the past year, followed by all the other village organisations reporting on their activities. The APM and AGM are normally held consecutively on one evening in May. In May 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions the Village Hall may not be able to host the meeting as there would have to be limit on capacity which may not allow all those who wished to attend to do so.

The proposal is for the APM to take place on June 30th. By then it is hoped the restrictions on numbers in the Village Hall will have been lifted and a proper meeting can be held. Those organisations which have not been able to meet will be asked to outline their planned activities for the year ahead, and those few who have met can report on both their activities and their plans. It is proposed that the Parish Council invites a speaker from the MDDC Waste and Recycling team to explain how the process works, the improvements made and how residents can help to achieve the targets for recycling and waste reduction.